World
The world of Black Desert consists of a very large main continent and a few small islands in the north west. Only a part of the continent is currently accessible. It is assumed that the continent is in the southern hemisphere of the world - which seems to have no name. The parts not currently charted and accessible for the areas known to exist are rumored to include * the lands of the "Far East" from where Asian-looking travelers sometimes show up * the mythical origin of the Valencia people on a large island or continent in the west called Selenaera Provinces There are five provinces. Calpheon refers to the desert surrounding Valencia as the Black Desert due to the Black Stones found there. But Valencia calls it the Red Desert because of the blood spilled in it. Political situation Calpheon-Valencia conflict The trade-oriented Republic of Calpheon has a long held animosity - some even call it a more or less open, endless war - with the science and arts focused Kingdom of Valencia. There are differing accounts on how this conflict started, but one claims that the merchants of Calpheon tried to push their king, Lord Eddric, to invade Valencia and so expand their area of influence. Balenos and Serendia agreed to supply Calpheon with necessary goods in case of an armed conflict as they are dependent on the Calpheon trade but otherwise choose to remain neutral. The merchant council of Calpheon is very powerful but could not persuade Lord Eddric to invade a country separated from the Calpheon-Balenos-Serendia territory by the desert of Media for mere gold. Soon after Eddric's decision was clear, traders from Calpheon were robbed at a large trade event and it was found that magic from Black Stones was used in the attack. The knowledge of how to use the Black Stones magic was considered long lost and very dangerous so Eddric was very worried about that new threat. There had been rumors that the miners of Media had found the Black Stones and a young Valencia alchemist, Mansur, had experimented with them and found a way to unlock their power. Indeed the council presented evidence to their monarch that the attackers came from Valencia. Another account claims that the Calpheon-Valencia war was started due to an aftermath of an inner Valencia conflict. The ancient Akman Tribe had settled in the area of Valencia long before the Valencians fled from Selenarea and refused to become part of the kingdom. The tribe considered them self the guardians of the remains of the Ancients. In 233 of the Ellon calendar the clashes between the tribe and the army of the kingdom culminated under the 14th Valencian king, Imur Nesser, when the latter commanded his army into a one-sided massacre of the tribe after the had refused numerous attempts of negotiation for their submission. The tribe did not yield but disappeared - but at the same time a horrifying plague started abruptly in Valencia. The "Black Death" as it was called since victims flesh turned black and rotted away, proved extremely contagious and swept not only through Valencia but was brought by Valencian traders to the other provinces as well - including Calpheon. The death toll was immense and weakened the grip of the priests of Ellion on the suffering poor in Calpheon who lost faith in their deity and saw that the nobility was not protected by their titles or claimed divine birth. To ensure their status the priests claimed that the plague was a curse on Imur Nesser for his deeds against the Akman or in other tellings that Imur was a demon who used the magic of the Black Stones to unleash the Black Death on the world. The priests urged the king to occupy the desert to prevent Valencia from access to the Black Stones. One way or the other it was enough to convince Lord Eddric of Calpheon to march against Valencia in 236. The campaign was not successful as the Calpheon army was not sufficiently prepared for the desert. Countless casualties caused king Imur to name the desert the Red Desert. Despite lack of progress and many deads the Calpheon campaign was never stopped and the successor of Eddric, Guy Sedric, maintained military actions against Valencia for 30 more years. A massive sandstorm in which ten thousands of soldiers died ended this onslaught of Calpheon for a while. But the forces of Calphenon and Valencia - referred to as the "Army of the Black Desert" and the "Army of the Red Desert" - clash once more in the desert Balenos-Media conflict This seems to be a rather recent conflict, which is starting to emerge from Media exiles being seen in the Castle Ruins of Crom. It is not clear if this is an isolated incident or if the leadership of Media is involved. Category:World